Successor
by Cassey11
Summary: Set after Dead Man Running. It's my first attempt and very cheesy and has very mild spoilers for Dead Man Running :P


**Cassey11 attempts to write fanfic! :P It's very cheesy and has very mild spoilers for Dead Man Running. Did I mention it was cheesy? ;)**

Six walked down the grim 'foyer' of the Deck taking note of the myriad of vehicles. In the corner there was a semi-trailer which looked like its front tyres had caught fire, melting rubber onto metal. He looked at his watch and felt a twinge of pain run up his arm. Kyntak had cleaned the wound meticulously and wrapped tight white bandages around it but it would still require further medical attention.

He opened a door on the far wall and entered the Hearts building.

* * *

The Hearts building felt no better than the new Deck's parking-lot come foyer. The corridors were plain and a stark white in colour; purely functional. The old Deck, _the _Deck Six thought, had pictures mounted on the walls and the occasional table with fake flowers. He had always thought they were a waste of the Deck's money and time installing them but now that they were gone he missed them.

He sighed and continued down the corridor.

* * *

He didn't know why but he found himself outside his office. No, he corrected himself, not his office Six of Hearts' office. This hadn't been his office for four years.

"Can I help you?" a voice said from behind him.

He stiffened. "No, I was just-". He turned around and came face to face with someone he recognized. He froze.

"I was just leaving" he said quickly and went to leave.

"Wait!" He felt a hand wrap around his wrist. "Can I please just have a moment of your time?"

He looked down at the hand circled around his wrist and slowly nodded.

* * *

He sat across from his successor, a large office desk with a computer on top separating them. Next to the computer was what looked like a picture frame but it was turned away from him.

"D-Do you remember me?" the voice sounded uncertain. "I'm sorry, you've probably saved so many people in your time it would be hard to remember them all, right?" It sounded like an attempt to brush off the prior question with a bit of humour but he could hear the nervous anticipation of his answer underlying the small chuckle.

"I remember you".

He finally looked up and met the eyes of Agent Six of Hearts. The new Agent Six of Hearts. If he could say who he thought would replace him if the need ever arose then this Agent would be the furthest from his thoughts. She wasn't overly tall, nor was she short. She was lean and curvy and he could see the outline of muscle under her skin but she wasn't buff. Short brown hair and eyes, she looked quite unremarkable; just an average citizen that you wouldn't look twice at walking down the road. She was nothing like Six of Hearts at all yet here he was sitting across from her in her office.

And he remembered her. He remembered rushing into a burning building. He remembered the heat licking at his skin and the crackle of plaster burning. He remembered Agent Three yelling after him. And he remembered running into the smoke filled room and seeing a young girl in her nightie clutching a sobbing toddler to her chest.

"You know" she paused, "I spent my entire childhood looking up to you. I wanted so badly to be like you, I wanted to be able to save lives like you did. I worked hard in school, though I admit I did daydream, and I trained hard and I tried my best to be a good person so that someday I might be able to pass on what you did for me."

Six said nothing. He just sat and listened. She continued anyway.

"I wasn't at the top of my classes when training as a Club but I wasn't terrible either. When I got accepted to graduate and become part of the Hearts division I was thrilled. I was going to see the King of Hearts to finalise my placement and… I-" she stuttered, "I thought I would get the chance to work with you but when…when I asked the Agent escorting me about you he stopped and told me to never ask the boss about you. When I asked further he just told me you died."

Six winced a bit at her last words but continued to sit silently. He wondered where she was going with this.

"When King offered me your title…I was overwhelmed. I thought I could never live up to who you were…and looking back on it I think that was the entire point of me getting your position." She smiled sadly. "I could never live up to you; I wasn't anything like you. I wasn't the fastest or the strongest and I wasn't the smartest either.

"Oh but, I'm rambling. I just really wanted to say thank-you." Six looked up, surprised. "Thank-you for saving my life, thank-you for saving my brother's life, and thank-you for making the City a better place." Six didn't see what she was getting at. The City was so much worse than it had been four years ago.

"Um, thanks for hearing me out. I'm really pleased to see you again and hopefully, maybe, we can work together sometime…"

Six got up to leave. He had his hand on the door handle but stopped.

"What is that picture of?"

"Oh, this?"

She spun it around to reveal a photo of her grinning with a young boy on her shoulders.

"Just me and my brother."

Six regarded the photo.

"I think you did a better job filling my role then you believe." Then he opened to door and left.

* * *

Six touched the handle of the door. He heard a buzz and the whirl of locks being retracted then the click of the door opening. He hesitated then stepped inside.

King was sitting behind his desk but stood up when Six entered the room. "Six", he said and started forward but then stopped.

Six looked over at the large couch next to the door that led to the armoury. "I've just met Six of Hearts."

King looked at him in confusion then recognition and looked down at the carpet. "I'm sorry" he said.

No-one said anything for a while then King looked up. "It took me two years before I could give another Agent your position" he whispered and Six could see his eyes were glistening. Six crossed the distance between then and put his hand on his father's arm and was suddenly ensnared in a bone crushing hug. He felt something wet on his neck.

"I think it's time we rebuild the Deck" Six said as he looked over King's shoulder and out the window searching through the fog for the yellow grey of the horizon.

**Review? :P**


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